©9/14/2017
Linda Goodman
A decade ago my husband, Phil, and
I were having dinner at a restaurant in Chester, Virginia. I was about halfway
through my salad when an elderly woman came running to our table crying, “Please, please, help my husband! He’s
choking, and he can’t breathe!”
Phil immediately stood up from his chair,
rushed over to the man, picked him up out of his chair, turned him around,
wrapped his own arms around him, and administered the Heimlich Maneuver. On the
second rapid squeeze, a huge (for one
swallow anyway) piece of steak came flying out of the man’s mouth and
landed on the floor.
The quite shaken woman thanked Phil
profusely, and the man even offered to pay for our dinners. “Nonsense!” Phil
told them. “You could have approached anyone in this restaurant, and they would
have done the same.” We left the restaurant without leaving our names. Nor did
we get their names. I felt extremely proud of my husband. He acted like it was
nothing, but he had saved a man’s life.
A week ago, I myself had the
opportunity to administer the Heimlich Maneuver for the first time. Because of a problem with my well, I was doing
laundry at my daughter’s house. I was in her bathroom when I heard her choking.
I called and asked if there was anything wrong, but there was no answer, just
more choking.
Without a second thought, I ran
into the kitchen. Her face was a drink crimson, and she was gasping for air. I
ran up behind her, put my arms around her, and squeezed for all I as worth; one
time; two times; three…..nothing….she continued to choke.
“Don’t worry,” I hollered. “I’m
going to call 911.”
I picked up my cell phone and started to dial,
but I was so frantic that I could not remember her street address, or even the
name of the town she lives in. I thought it was all over; that I was going to
lose my only child because I could not remember her address.
Suddenly the choking stopped. She
was still gasping, though the air was now getting to her lungs. Deep sobs wracked her body. “I thought I was
going to die,” she cried, once she was in control of her breathing again.
It turned out that she had not
needed the Heimlich Maneuver at all. She was having a throat spasm, one of the
many symptoms of a chronic disease that she is fighting. This was the worst
spasm she had ever had to deal with.
Still the situation made me realize
that I need a refresher course on CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver. I figure that
if I review these procedures over and over again, I will have the confidence I
need to be able to perform them when necessary.
I also make sure that my address
book is with me and up to date at all times. A daughter is a precious thing. I
will not lose mine because I cannot remember her address.
(Now
that this whole incident is behind me, and I have had time to process it, it
makes me think of the movie The English
Patient. Kristen Scott Thomas’ character died because the man she loved had
a name that was too difficult to spell. Details are important.)
